


Witch

by Hekate1308



Series: Balance and New Beginnings [21]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, M/M, season 12 au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-01
Updated: 2017-05-01
Packaged: 2018-10-26 03:20:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10778457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hekate1308/pseuds/Hekate1308
Summary: Walpurgis Night feels different this year.She hasn’t been able to get Fergus off her mind.





	Witch

Walpurgis Night feels different this year.

She has been celebrating it on her own for centuries now, since she and covens don’t mix well, so that’s not it.

Neither is it about the fact that she just watched another fight between Mary Winchester and Dr. Hess.

She can’t decide which one is more obnoxious.

But it is Walpurgis Night, the only sacred day she has ever known, and she is determined to celebrate it.

But even on the hill she found, the night dancing around her, magic pulsing beneath her fingertips, she doesn’t feel like chanting.

She hasn’t been able to get Fergus off her mind.

It’s ridiculous, really. She wasn’t worried about him when he ran around and wreaked havoc as a boy, so why should she be now?

Maybe the Winchesters finally realized he’s a liability and ended him. The angel might have fallen, but he still has his blade.

But... no. Somehow, illogically, she’s convinced she’d feel it if her son died.

She closes her eyes and focuses on the energy around her.

Walpurgis Night. It’s supposed to be special.

And then something bursts through the trees at the foot of the hill.

**Two weeks ago**

Aaron doesn’t get angry.

At least not the way Dean tends to. There are no quick, sudden bursts of anger, not even the aloof silence Cas usually goes for when he’s mad.

So it is something of a surprise when their friend, still hunting down Nazis in Germany, starts screaming at him over the phone.

Really, all he did was clarifying where they stand with the Men of Letters because he mentioned them and Aaron asked.

And now this.

“I have a go- _lem_! That is practically an ar- _m_ y! Someone wants to wipe you off the face of the earth and _you don’t call me!?”_

“You have better things to do – “

“ _They want to kill you!_ You saved my life once! What do I care about freaking Nazis – “

“Aaron – “

“Hold on, I am checking for flights – “

“You don’t have to – “

“See you in a few days.”

“You don’t even know where – “

Aaron hangs up. Dean stands there, stupefied.

“Looks like we’re getting another guest” he tells Cas.

“You look spooked” he observes gently.

Dean shrugs.

“Never imagined I’d have Aaron scream at me because of the British pricks, that’s all”.

“I... had a similar talk with Claire the other day.”

“Oh?”

Claire’s been hunting and keeping in touch, but they decided for good reason not to let her know everything that’s gone down. She’s too young to worry about freaking genocide. Jody knows, naturally. They wouldn’t risk her wrath when she found out on her own.

“I was tired. I might have mentioned Crowley and the spell he’s under... And then I had to explain.”

Dean smiles. Cas has never been able to say no to Claire since they met again.

He’d make a good father.

Dean shoves that thought far away. That’s not...

Claire. Yeah, that’s better.

“And what did she say?”

“She was upset. She let me know she’s _not a child anymore, Castiel_.” He pauses.

“She usually calls me Castiel when she’s angry with me.”

“She’s still a teenager, Cas. She’ll get over it. And hey, now that she knows, we can invite her to visit. I think she’d like her own room.”

Dean knows best how important it is to have a home base. Yes, there’s Jody’s, but she could always use another place to crash. Just in case.

“I love you” Cas tells him.

He grins, his fight with Aaron long forgotten.

At least until he breezes into the States three days later, calls him and demands to know “Where the hell they are.”

“Nice digs” is all he says when Dean opens the door for him.

“You can say that again. Everyone’s in the living room, except for Crowley. We had to put him in solitary confinement a while back.”

“Did he try to betray you?”

“What?”

Sometimes it’s way too easy to forget that the demon who is currently solving the New York times crossword puzzle is still the King of Hell.

“No, he’s a friend. He was placed under a spell.”

“I really missed a lot.”

“You have no idea”.

He suddenly realizes he never even told Aaron he’s dating Cas now. Sure, his angel came up in conversation now and then, but did he ever make their relationship clear?

What’s Judaism’s take on gay couples again?

Bisexual couples.

Whatever.

“Yeah, so... right now, you’re our only – “ he glances at the golem who’s entered the mansion after Aaron “guests. So this means it’s you, me, Sammy, my boyfriend, Mick – I’ll explain later – and the King of Hell in his room.”

Aaron doesn’t even blink.

Well then.

After they’ve all been introduced – and Dean has already decided he’s going to ignore every suspicious glance Aaron throws Mick, he’ll learn he’s not one of the bastards anymore – they tell him and the golem what they need to know.

“Also, we’ve prepared a room for you. For him too, of course – “

“Thank you, Matan is comfortable everywhere.”

Huh. So he did end up giving him a name. Makes sense. You spend so much time with someone, you want to know what to call them.

“It means gift in Hebrew” Cas will tell him later.

Aaron and Matan go to see Crowley.

“He’s not exactly what I pictured when I imagined the King of Hell” Aaron comments when they return.

“His soul is much lighter than I expected” Matan chimes in.

Food for thought, certainly, but it doesn’t really help them with the spell.

“I think” Dean announces after another few days of fruitless research, “We need to find Rowena”.

“Yes, but how? She’s either with the Men of Letters or she’s shielding herself pretty well” Sam points out.

“Walpurgis Night” Cas says abruptly.

“In three days, it’s April the 30th.”

“That’s big for witches. They celebrate on hills, perform spells, all the fun stuff” Dean answers, thinking quickly. “She’s bound to participate, right? And if she banks on the Men of Letters keeping her safe from us – they certainly must have some kind of deal – she’ll probably stay near their base.”

That they haven’t switched locations speaks of their arrogance. Hell, Crowley practically blew the place up and according to their friends, they just rebuilt it.

Dean is going to enjoy bringing them down.

First things first, though.

Set Crowley free.

“I can find her” Matan announces. “I will bring her here.”

“Thanks man”.

“It’s no problem”.

That evening, Dean and Aaron share a nightcap.

“Matan seems more... human these days.”

“He’s been learning how to interact properly with people. I don’t like keeping him in a box.”

Dean nods. He understands that.

“Not as human as Cas, though” Aaron says, smirking.

“What can I say? I’m an awesome teacher”. Dean winks.

“I bet.”

After a short, comfortable silence, Aaron begins, “Do you mind if I ask a question?”

“No idea until you do, but go ahead.”

“What happened? When we met, even the idea of a guy hitting on you made you uncomfortable.”

“Officially yeah, but I actually thought you were kind of cute”.

“I – ah – you –“ Aaron stutters, blushing a little.

“But to answer your question, Cas happened. What do I care whether I’m gay or bi or freaking pan if I can have that?”

“You seem very happy together.”

“We are. You know, when the world’s not ending for a change.”

“Kind of feels like it is.”

“What?” Dean puts his glass down.

Aaron raises his hands.

“Not like that. It’s just... I’ve made some contacts in the European hunting community. Over there, it’s still very much like it was in the States when I left – the supernatural on one side, the hunters on the other. This feels like a new beginning.”

“It does.”

It really does. What they’re creating... It feels good. Fair. Balanced.

“I can help. I’ve got a lot of practice fighting against maniacs who want to commit genocide”.

Dean just grins.

 **Now  
** The creature just grabbed her and dragged her away after binding and blindfolding her.

And it’s fast.

She registers it’s a golem, which means it’s immune to spells.

No problem.

At least she thinks so until it doesn’t even react to her demand for the roll in his mouth. Not even when she speaks Hebrew.

His rabbi must have found a way to shield him.

“Let me down!”

It doesn’t listen to her.

“I said let me down, golem!”

“I heard you, but I am not going to. My rabbi and I are helping our friends.”

She can imagine who these friends are.

She’s proven right when, after what feels like hours, she gets carried into a house and the blindfold and bindings are taken off.

“Don’t even think about it. Matan is immune to spells, as you well know, and he’s stronger than you”.

“Dean. Castiel.”

She turns her head.

“Sam.”

She doesn’t recognize the other men in the room.

“Rowena. Long time no see.”

“Frankly, I think it could have stayed that way.”

“In that case you shouldn’t have bewitched Crowley” Dean barks and she’s taken aback by the expression on his face.

That’s not just anger.

There’s worry there as well.

He can’t be worried about her, so it must be –

He’s worried for her son.

A hunter is actually worried about the King of Hell.

He’s not just an asset for them, a weapon to use as she thought when they first met.

He’s a _friend_.

Against all odds, Fergus found a family.

An insane, rather bloodthirsty family, but still.

“I – “

“You got a good offer, let’s not pretend it was anything but.”

“Dean” Sam interrupts him gently.

“What? You know I’m right!”

“You are” she admits. “They promised me Hell in exchange for the spell. And no one would ever come after me.”

“Yeah well, that’s not turned out so well, has it.”

“No. A golem... I have to admit I am impressed.”

“Thank you very much” the smaller of the men says. So he’s the rabbi then. Doesn’t look like one.

“So how can we break the spell?”

“What do you care? You’ve clearly kept him locked up somewhere. He can’t do any harm like this.”

“You’ve bound his free will” the ex-angel says gravely. “You’ve made him obey his enemies. It’s not right.”

Here, too. Nothing but concern for her son.

As a matter of fact, they all look worried. Even the golem seems affected.

“Come on. Time for a family reunion”.

As usual, she’s allowed to walk beside them unbound, even though she’s their prisoner. The Winchesters have always been rather chivalrous when it comes to things like that.

The mansion surprises her. It has clearly been erected by Fergus – she can clearly feel his power, although it seems to be... cleaner than before – but the care he has taken to ensure humans can be comfortable here is astounding.

As is seeing him properly. When she cast the spell, he was upset – understandably so, she can still hear the panic in his voice as he called out _Mother, please_ – but here in his – home? He looks more relaxed than in years, like he actually found something like peace.

“Mother” he says, shooting Dean looks that clearly warn him to get her out of his sight.  

“Fergus”.

She takes a deep breath – and stays silent.

She could order him to attack. He can’t leave the room, but they’re all in here, and he could keep the golem occupied long enough for her to slip away –

But.

Fergus would attack his – his –

“One word and I’ll shoot you” Dean hisses at her, having understood what he meant.

One glance was enough.

She takes another deep breath.

“I said – “ Dean begins, but she beats him to it.

“I release you from your bond. I release you from the power I put you under. Be free.”

She never told Hess it’s that easy.

Fergus grimaces and crumbles down on the floor.

“Crowley! What did you to him, you – “

He gets up, clutching Dean’s arm.

“It’s over. I’m free”.

“Are you – sure?”

“Mother, order me to do something”.

He turns to her, his eyes stormy. She wonders if she’s about to die.

“Punch Dean in the face” is the first thing that comes to mind.

He looks at Dean and waits.

After half a minute, the hunter relaxes. Then he apparently surprises everyone in the room, including himself and Fergus, by pulling him into a quick hug.

“Thank God. Good to have you back, Crowley.”

“Good to be back.”

Sam, after grinning at her boy, immediately starts scratching out the sigils they used to keep him in his room with the two other guys and the golem helping.

The group trades glances as they are working, suggesting to her that her end might be near.

Especially since Fergus has his full power back.

“I say, let Crowley decide” Dean suggests. “She’s his mother.”

She expects her neck to get broken any second, but he just studies her.

That’s not the same demon she came to see a few years ago.

She was right. There’s something different about his powers, something... nicer for lack of a better word.

“Get. Out.”

“What?”

“Get out. I never want to see you again. Stay away from me and my friends. And Hell” he adds almost as an afterthought. “And if you should help the Men of Letters again – “

“I’m dead. I know.”

She turns to go. But she hesitates when she reaches the door.

“Fer – Crowley. I’m – glad you found what you were looking for”.

Because, she thinks when she’s finally back in the fresh air, watching the lake glisten in the sunshine, he has, whether he realizes it or not.

A few years ago, Crowley got himself new enemies.

Somehow, someway he’s found a family in them.


End file.
